Thursday, January 23, 2014

Like the previous Gayle Forman two-book series I've read, "Just One Year" has a way of fitting the puzzle pieces missing in "Just One Day".

This book gives a glimpse of Willem's life from his point of view. The first half is not as exciting as I wished it would be. The second half is more interesting as the events would coincide with what happened to Allyson in the first book. It made sense. There are times when I get frustrated because I know they kept looking for each other when in fact they just needed to see what's under their noses (or needed to see the person sitting alone on the same freaking beach)! But life's like that. Sometimes, we have to go through a lot of detours, meet people and experience new things to make us who we are. When we're ready and it's meant to be, it will just fall into place.

Or maybe I'm just overthinking now and the lines between fiction and my reality get blurry. An idle mind does this. Oh well. :)

Thursday, January 16, 2014

One great author said, “Good books don’t give up all their secrets at once.” That is probably why I consider this a good book. It’s the ending that finally convinced me to rate this 4 instead of 3 stars.

For the past couple of weeks, I have read a couple of Gayle Forman books (both from the “If I Stay” series). I was touched by the family, love, death and life themes in those books that it conditioned my mind to expect the same. “Just One Day” is more of a coming-of-age, love story. I was not that impressed at first.

This is told from the point of view of Allyson, who went to Europe for a vacation. It was a high school graduation gift from her parents. There she met Willem, a Shakespearean actor. She decided to spend a day with him in Paris. Yes, it had to be Paris. She felt like a totally different person (Willem called her Lulu)—more daring, more adventurous, more honest during that day. Circumstances brought her back to her reality. She went to college and was depressed. She met a few interesting people, made new friends and eventually decided to go back to Paris. Like most girls, this is where our need for “closure” comes in. That, or she probably missed her "Lulu" side. After a year, she’s back to retrace her steps. What she found out changes her.

The author’s typical writing style is still there. The flow is simple yet smooth like I’m watching a movie using my imagination. Instead of the usual flat line than peak in the end, the story is peak, then flat line then peak and then abrupt ending. The applaud the idea of this book because it makes readers like me want to grab the next one. This is the first part of a two-part series. The next book, “Just One Year”, is narrated from the point of view of Willem recounting what happened after that one magical day in the city of love. Since I need my closure, I'm off to read the next one.

Wednesday, January 08, 2014

This is a short story tackling a lot of different things such as life, death, love, culture, race, and friendship. The story is narrated from the point of view of a young African-American who was sent to a religious summer camp run by white teenagers. I would love to read more of this. I hope Jodi Picoult continues this and makes a full-length novel out of it.

Tuesday, January 07, 2014

Three years after what happened to Mia and her family in "If I Stay (book #1)", this book shows the life of Adam -- the reason why Mia chose to live. Adam made a vow and suffered the consequences.

I blame my personal experiences because I did not find this as heartbreaking as the first book, but I am sure there are a lot who would still suffer aching of the heart while reading this. I love music, so I appreciate how Gayle Forman writes a story where the two main characters are passionate about it. I also like the way she narrates it as one fluid story. There are no boring moments. Since I am a sucker for happy endings, I can't think of a better ending for this series.

Sunday, January 05, 2014

I have read a book and imagined the moments in it to happen to me in real life. This book has quite the opposite effect. I read it and it reminded me of things that happened in my life-- recent, sad and painful things.

"I have a feeling that once you live through something like this, you become a little bit invincible."

The story is narrated from Mia's point of view while she was in a coma. A car crash made her an orphan when her parents died on the spot. Her younger brother died in the hospital a few hours later. She recounts bits and pieces of her almost perfect family life, her amazing boyfriend and awesome best friend. As she does this, she is reminded of the different reasons that created tug-of-war in her. Will she let go or will she stay?

I have started reading a couple of books this new year. I did not continue with one because it was too sad for me. My sister recommended this and I have become curious when I learned that the author will be in Manila a few days from now to do a book signing. I started reading it without knowing what the story was about. This is still sad, but this is also the first book I finished in 2014. I like it enough that I will read the second one in this series. :)